Вінніпеґ Український № 11 (January 2016)

Ukraine. Україна
An important problem is also a mess with powers of different
state institutions and branches inherited from Soviet times.
Through subordinate normative acts, executive bodies actually
take over not only the right to control functioning of the society,
but also the right to limit independent action of citizens. In
the name of the state, a few bureaucrats, or even a single one, at
their discretion or in their own interest may block not only civil
initiatives, but also any private business. This inevitably leads to
creation of corruption situations and is a hindrance to both social
and economic development.
Hence, the Ukrainian society faces an important task of understanding,
what role the state institutions are actually playing in the
economic process, since there is a direct interrelation between
state institutions and economic growth. Besides, it is important to
realize that the states that create open societies and transparent
institutions of power prove to be more successful than closed societies
or so-called societies of limited opportunities. Open societies
are more viable, placid and thriving. 8
However, the problem is that even such societies do not really
have a clear answer as to which institutes of open society are
the most important for their existence. Nevertheless, most researchers
agree that of primary importance are democratic institutes,
feedback and the rule of law. 9 Besides, a strong state, able to
struggle with corruption, is needed to create efficient institutes
of open society. Definitely, in the contemporary society the role
of educational institutions is critical. They must properly conduct
the process of education – provide knowledge necessary for
socialization and development to future generations and even
more importantly – bring up citizens, i.e. conscious members of
the society, bearers of civil virtues.
It is necessary to conduct urgent reforms to make Ukrainian
governance more open and efficient. This will help the country
become more successful and competitive in the 21st century.
In the first place, it is vital to increase the morality of governance
and to make the work of all branches of power transparent
and public. This will help establishing permanent
contact with citizens and allow them seeing the results of
government’s decisions. On the other hand, this will reduce
the power of bureaucrats controlling the information flows.
To make the activity of all branches of power transparent, it
is necessary to concentrate the information about their work in
open sources, primarily Internet, showing the citizens what is
happening in the government. It is essential to inform citizens
directly. Such measures make the work of the government more
open and thus more efficient. At the same time, like in the USA,
Canada, Australia and most countries of the EU, it is necessary
to create separate websites where all taxpayers can see how the
government spends the money accumulated in the state budget
– all taxes, duties and credits, which are the collective property
of all citizens of Ukraine, rather than of its separate bureaucrats.
Special attention should be paid to the ethics of state governance.
It is necessary to create Internet resources devoted
to activities of all political actors and public officers working
in the country, as well as citizens working in the interests
of other countries. 10 All the information about meetings and
consultations taking place at public administration establishments
should be in free access. This is how the most successful
countries of the world work today.
It is also imperative to conduct strict accounting of expenses
of governmental officials and publish data on lobbying
(this topic is absent in the Ukrainian public discourse at
all, although it is substantially present in the Ukrainian politics
and economics). Besides, it is necessary to register all
non-citizens of Ukraine who take part in public activity and
publicize this information on the website of the Ministry of
Justice.
In addition, it is crucial to introduce and publicize reporting
of the Central Election Committee on the financial
support of electoral campaigns and of candidates on expenses
and sources of income. Thus, all transactions connected
with elections must become transparent. Ukrainian
government should also actively join the US initiative Partnership
“Open Governance” approved by the UN General
Assembly.11 This is the initiative directed at supporting and
protecting the measures of governments aimed at increasing
transparency of their activity, strengthening citizens’ rights,
overcoming corruption and utilizing new technologies for
raising efficiency of governance.
Whether Ukraine has really taken the path of conducting
anticorruption, and essentially state-building, institutional
transformations, will be evident from the dynamics of the
declared reforms. In the first place, this refers to the reform
of local self-government and decentralization. It is clear that
this will be a long and difficult process. The biblical story on
how Moses wandered with Hebrews in the desert is not simply
a good fairytale. Without changes in human consciousness,
changes in the society are impossible. The masses of
people may turn into conscious citizens only when they
jointly and consistently surmount all difficulties and obstacles.
As the experience of Marxist regimes have proved in
the 20th century, it is impossible to jump over certain stages
of social development. Incidentally, the contemporary crisis
in Greece is another watertight confirmation of this. That is
why the citizens of Ukraine have no other choice than conquering
their corruptive consciousness by themselves and
building their state and their nation to produce a safe and
prosperous home for their children.
- СІЧЕНЬ 2016 - Український Вінніпеґ
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